Beijing's municipal administration announced fresh steps on Sunday to combat a recent COVID-19 outbreak, as the number of people getting infected by the virus surged.

The National Health Commission announced on Sunday that nine locally transmitted cases were discovered in Beijing on January 22, six of which were in the city's Fengtai area.

On Sunday, the district health officials in Fengtai will conduct COVID-19 RNA testing for all of the town's citizens.

Residents of "risky regions," including a Fengtai neighborhood, have been warned not to leave the city, according to a local government spokesperson during a Sunday press conference. Residents of Fengtai have also been asked to avoid mass gatherings.

Residents in Beijing have also been advised to undertake nucleic acid testing if they get COVID-19-like symptoms within 14 days of receiving any delivery from outside, according to a statement issued by local officials on Saturday.

Beijing's first case of the Omicron form of the new coronavirus may have come in a box from Canada, according to authorities.

China's National Health Commission reported 56 new COVID-19 cases in the mainland on Jan. 22, down from 63 the day before.

According to the report, 19 of the new cases were locally transmitted, compared to 23 the day before.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not consider proven, decreased from 43 to 34.

There were no fresh deaths, bringing the total number of people killed to 4,636.